In 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. Even though they have only won seven games in two seasons, this team is headed in the right direction under the leadership of second-year Head Coach Gus Bradley and General Manager Dave Caldwell. Jacksonville has been very active this off-season in free agency, spending money on some talented players.
The team’s offense has a tough road to travel after scoring a league-low 15.6 points-per-game in 2014 and allowing a franchise-high 71 sacks. Now the organization now must shore up some holes. They have begun that task by adding tight end Julius Thomas from the Denver Broncos and offensive tackle Jermey Parnell from the Dallas Cowboys.
They also re-tooled the defense adding defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Miami Dolphins), outside linebacker Dan Skuta (San Francisco 49ers), defensive back Davon House (Green Bay Packers), safety Sergio Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and re-signing one of their own in defensive end Tyson Alualu.
While the Jaguars addressed a lot of needs early in the 2015 NFL free agency period, for a team to be successful in the long term they must draft quality players and develop their talent. This enables them to have a solid rotation of players so that when a key player goes down there will be no significant drop off in skillful play. With that in mind let’s take a look at a few needs for the Jaguars in this year’s 2015 NFL draft.
- Wide Receiver: the Jags did spend two draft picks on this position last year by adding Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee. They also found a diamond in the rough in Allen Hurns who had a solid season with 51 receptions, 677 yards and six touchdowns. But second-year quarterback Blake Bortles could still use a true No. 1 wide receiver on the outside. With Cecil Shorts leaving to sign with the Houston Texans, the Jaguars could absolutely use a guy who can be a deep-ball threat to compliment Thomas and allow him the opportunity for more favorable match ups.
- Pass-Rushing Defensive End: even with the moves the Jaguars have made this off-season, adding another rotational option could benefit them long term. Defensively this team was ranked sixth in the National Football League in sacks last year but was 32nd in the league in quarterback pressures. As the old saying goes, ‘pressure will bust a pipe’ and defensive pressure forces quarterbacks to more rushed throws. Pressure also allows the defensive backfield to play better because they’re not covering guys for seven-plus seconds at a time. Drafting an explosive guy who can get around the edges will improve their ability to collapse the pocket.
- Running Back: the Jags signed Toby Gerhart in the 2014 off-season and were hopeful that he could be the lead back for this squad. However, this did not come to fruition when Gerhart managed only 326 yards on 101 carries with two touchdowns in fourteen games. He only started seven games, sharing time with 2013 fifth-round draft pick Dennard Robinson. Robinson was a little better, gaining 582 yards on 135 carries with four touchdowns. Now with new pieces added on the offensive line, these two could still prove to be a dynamic duo. But throwing all your eggs in one basket could be a risky move. Drafting a game-changing running back for their backfield will generate more competition at this position. They could add a shifty, dynamic speedster that could put this team’s backfield on another level.
- Offensive Line: a team can never have too much help in this area and it is one in which the Jags could look to create a high level of competition. Jacksonville’s defense set franchise records in 2014 for the most sacks allowed in a game. Veteran quarterback Chad Henne was taken to the turf 10 times during their 41-10 Week Two massacre in the nation’s capital. There was no change when Bortles hit the field to replace Henne… the hits just kept coming. The Jags had drafted two solid starters along the offensive line in guard Brandon Linder and center Luke Bowanko but to avoid talent drop-off at these positions when injury arises, they need to draft some quality depth. This year’s draft has plenty of talented guys that can do just that for this unit.